“If you have time, would it be possible for you to whip up a dessert for my birthday?” asked my friend Glenn. Normally I would automatically answer “Of course!” but Glenn was celebrating a “milestone” birthday by throwing a big weekend getaway event down in Monterey, completely with a dinner banquet. I was concerned that he wanted me to create some ersatz tiered-wedding cake extravaganza but thankfully I was told that it didn’t have to be like that. Just something simple and quick would be ok. You know, for 45 people. That also somehow referenced the theme for the party, which was nautical. With some creative naming, my brown butter chocolate chip cookies could fit this nautical theme, with the title “Not Your Average Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip Cookies”.

Not your average Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip Cookie

Now the week before his birthday was crazy hectic. I had been in a stressed-out panic state for various reasons (which I won’t go into right now) for the past week or two, and the weekend was quickly approaching. I was so pressed for time in fact, that I did not have a moment to make my usual chocolate chip cookie dough, the one that I cure in the fridge for 72 hours. The night before I sat down and thought to myself, I gotta bake something nautical themed for 45 people. Not one to give into a challenge, I figured out a way to make a darn good cookie, without the long wait involved.

Thank goodness for creative naming...

Thankfully the cookies turned out ok. In fact, they turned out better than ok, with people raving about these soft chewy cookies at the party. AJ and I had driven down and put on our nautically themed clothing (apparently it’s not too hard to figure out a nautically themed outfit from your everyday wardrobe, well my everyday wardrobe at least) and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

AJ and I were relatively low key in our ensembles but many others went all out. Especially impressive was Jane who had a custom “Nauti-Girl” t-shirt and wore a lobster in her hair and a walked around with a fishing net around her shoulders. I LOVE that. Jane, flew in from London to help celebrate Glenn’s birthday. Though this is utterly stereotypical, and I think it had everything to do with the fact that she has a British accent, I pretty much felt like I was hanging out with Dawn French from French & Saunders whenever she opened her mouth (it helped that she was ridiculously funny like Dawn French too).

Sara and Jane dress nautical

The nautical theme party was pretty darn fun. Even the kids got into theme, dressing like pirates, or in some cases, like a shark. I love theme parties where even the kids get into it!

Argghhh matey!

Shark attack!

Not only did people dress the part, they acted the part…of drunken sailors. At one point Glenn’s friend chased him around with the birthday cake, threatening to smash it into his face. I can’t remember the circumstances to why this happened. I’m also guessing that she can’t either.

Words were said. Looks were exchanged.

A chase ensued.

It almost came to physical blows!

The homemade cookies were a massive hit. In fact people seemed to be sneaking them off, taking them back to their room and talking about them left and right. Seems that everyone LOVED them. Beyond loved them in fact. Glenn’s boyfriend Curtis squirreled away six leftover ones, so that he and Glenn could enjoy them all for themselves post-party. He shushed me on more than one occasion when people complained that there weren’t any leftover cookies and I let them know that Curtis has a few in hiding.

The entire nautical themed party was a blast.

The rest of the weekend was pretty magnificent as well. For some reason, after living in California for 13 years, AJ and I still had not made it to Big Sur. We fixed that by driving down and checking out the stunning cliffs on Highway 1. We stopped and got sandwiches at Café Kevah, the café underneath Nepenthe. The view made the generous sized sandwiches (seriously, we could have split one and been more than filled) even more fantastic. I’ve been slightly obsessed with Nepenthe after getting both the My Nepenthe cookbook by Romney Steel at a cookbook swap hosted by 18 Reason and Omnivore Books (A book I totally pounced on when I saw it), as well as Plum Gorgeous, the second book by Romney Steele, the granddaughter of the Nepenthe owners.

The cliffs from Big Sur were gorgeous.

A historic bridge on the drive down Highway 1 to Big Sur.

I made AJ stop the car numerous times so I could get out and instagram my experience.

Heading back, we had a fantastic dinner with Glenn, celebrating his “milestone” birthday, enjoyed ourselves with friends, new and old and just generally had a blast. People kept on talking about my cookies, and asking me if I could give them recipe. I hadn’t planned on posting about, especially since I already have a chocolate chip cookie recipe here, but there is always room for one more chocolate chip cookie recipe right? Especially one that doesn’t require the long curing time in the fridge.

Astrid and Glenn celebrating his milestone birthday.

Glenn's mom giving a toast.

Even spiderman showed up to the party!

Happy birthday Glenn. I hope you have a great year. I was thrilled to be a part of your celebration.

Glenn and his mom, with his cake (which, thankfully, I did not have to make).

These cookies have NOTHING to do with Chips Ahoy, other than the name. They are dense, chewy, soft, stuffed full of dark chocolate and complex with a huge amount of butterscotch undertones. I developed these to bypass the long curing process that my other chocolate chip cookies dough needs. In fact the first batch of cookies can be done in less than an hour. These aren’t better than those cookies, they’re just different (and equally good).

There are a few secrets that make these cookies stand out from the average chocolate chip cookie. One, I use dry whole milk powder to add a creamy depth to the cookie (if you can’t find dry whole milk powder, you can use dry nonfat milk powder but it won’t taste as rich – be sure to grind it into a fine powder if you can). Two, I use white whole wheat flour, which adds another dimension to the cookie that regular all purpose doesn’t. Three, instead of using chocolate chips, which usually don’t melt, I chop up chunks of chocolate from a bittersweet chocolate bar which gives it a better chocolate flavor. Most importantly is number four: the brown butter and all brown sugar – components of butterscotch. Together the cookies you have a quick cookie that taste different than my All American Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie, but is equally fantastic.

Everybody loves a chocolate chip cookie, especially one made with brown butter.

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or piece of parchment paper.

2. Place the all purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, milk powder, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt into a medium mixing bowl. Using a balloon whisk, vigorously stir the dry ingredients together, until they well blended and uniform in color.

3. Place the butter in a large saucepan (preferably with a silver bottom) and cook on medium high heat until the fat particles of the butter start to brown and smell fragrant and nutty. Turn the heat off and continue to stir to cool the brown butter for a minute or two.

4. Place the brown sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Pour the brown butter onto the brown sugar and beat on medium high for at least 30 seconds, or until the butter has cooled to room temperature. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed until each egg is incorporated.

5. Add the vanilla extract and beat on medium to incorporate. Add the dry ingredients and beat on slow until completely incorporated. Add the chocolate, and slowly mix the dough until the chocolate is distributed.

6. Scoop out golf ball size balls of dough and roll into balls (about 3 oz each). Don’t worry if the cookie dough batter seems greasy. Place 2 inches apart for each other on the lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt (just a pinch).

7. Bake in the oven for 16 to 18 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let cool on the pan for five minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack to cool further.

I Think I’ll make these for my father’s coffee club friends as a Veteran’s Day “Thank You” tomorrow. They are all WWII vets and I was trying to come up with an American-As-Apple-Pie type dessert that I haven’t already taken to the guys (I’ve done apple pie, pumpkin pie, cornbread, coffee cake, lemon rolls, cinnamon rolls, spudnuts, and Mary Todd Lincoln White Almond Cake).

They were a hit! There were 7 WWII vets there today, including my father and our friend “Uncle” Jim. I took a plate of the spice cookies and a plate of the chocolate chip, between the coffee club guys and the kitchen and wait staff there wasn’t a single crumb left.

“Uncle” Jim is a southern gentleman from Arkansas and was married to Martha “Mother”, she passed away in July 2010. Martha was the consummate housewife, by comparison she made Donna Reed and June Cleaver look second rate. She had hot breakfast ready for her husband and boys 7 days a week, packed lunches ready first thing in the morning, and a 4 course hot dinner every night with dessert and coffee after…no leftovers for dinner ever. At her funeral almost every memory shared involved her food somehow, she was an insanely good cook. So believe me when Jim told me “SuzyQ I do believe these are better than Mother’s.” it is a true compliment. He is always complimentary of everything I bring, but he has NEVER compared any of it to Martha’s.

They look like they have such HEFT! I can envision the dense, chewy love that only the best quality cookies have. I can’t wait to make them. Also, a request: can you pleaaaaase make Christina Tosi’s corn cookies (I’m not sure if the recipe is in the new Milkbar cookbook, but I sure hope so!).

I love those make-it-work moments when stress is in abundance and time is beyond limited. While I don’t love being _in_ those moments, I do enjoy the surprise of the end result, which as you put it, is often “better than ok.”

btw- Those pictures from Big Sur are amazing! Definitely makes me want to go back to California much sooner rather than later. Thanks for sharing!

Hey Irvin,
It was nice to meet you at IFBC this weekend. I was glad to see your post about Big Sur because I’m just about to go for the first time next weekend. Thanks for the tips! Keep me posted on any new Thai food/Korean food spots you find next time you’re passing through LA.
Best,
Kristin

When you go to Big Sur, be sure to stop by the Big Sur Bakery. I was SO sad that it was closed by the time we headed back, but I have their cookbook and though I have yet to make anything out of it, everything in it looks incredible.

Thank you! I have big plans to go there in fact (it may or may not be 1/2 the reason I signed up to run the Big Sur 1/2 marathon, so I would have an excuse to pass through town and make a stop at the bakery. Not during the race, but I made dinner reservations for after.) I also have their cookbook and agree: it looks amazing!! I promise to report back with all the details.

I just wanted to say I made these for a cookie recipe exchange and they were RAVED over. I think you’ll be getting 14 more followers now. Thx for such consistent, wonderful recipes and blog posts. I’ve enjoyed reading and baking from your blog for the last several months. 🙂

I made a batch of these today and they were amazing! (a bit too sweet for our Asian taste buds or it just might be we couldn’t wait long enough for the cookies to cool down completely; amazing!! nonetheless) I’ve been baking for years but oddly never baked chocolate chips. Thank you for making this first time a wonderful wonderful experience!

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The Baker, Writer, Recipe Maker

Hey there! Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm Irvin Lin, an IACP-Award winning photographer, award winning baker, award winning graphic designer, storyteller, recipe developer, writer and average joe bon vivant. Hilarity often ensues when I'm involved. I currently reside in San Francisco in the neighborhood people have recently taken to calling "The Gastro" - a block from Dolores Park and right near Tartine Bakery, Bi Rite Market & Creamery, and Delfina.

I can also be found at various food events around the city. Feel free to contact me by clicking on that picture of me up above or emailing me eatthelove {at} gmail {dot} com.

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